Outside Guide: Winter Cocktails

Colorado bars offer a few great shakes in winter cocktail mixes

When Arctic air masses roll in, and the sky is heavy with dark gray clouds bent on spilling snow, tipplers don't look to the drinks of summer for solace. Mojitos and soda spritzes just won't do.

The cocktails that fill the bill tend to come in amber hues, concoctions with dark, smoky notes suitable for burrowing in. These libations can help navigate the long winter nights of the soul — and keep Jack Frost at bay.

Here, in no particular rank, are a handful of seasonal mixed drinks that are unique to area bars. They exhibit the personalities of the folks who create them and the places where they're served.

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This creation from Bryan Dayton, co-owner and beverage honcho at this popular restaurant, has an evocative name that calls forth both winter and the sunny climes of Oaxaca, one of Mexico's finest food regions.
The cocktail combines the mellowness of mezcal and agave nectar, plus the bracing notes of mole bitters. At Oak, they serve it over a hand-chipped ball of ice.

This popular LoHi spot is housed in the former Olinger funeral home and winkingly bills itself as an "eatuary." Still, don't expect bar manager Anika Zappe to announce that the Corpse Reviver is her favorite winter cocktail.
Instead, Zappe suggests the Taut Hottie, mixed with equal parts Bulleit Rye whiskey, local honey or lavender syrup, and Teatulia black tea. Zappe serves it in a snifter with a sugared rim and lemon twist.
One other trick: "I like to do an absinthe wash in the glass and then ignite to warm the glass and caramelize the sugar," she says.

This popular LoHi spot is housed in the former Olinger funeral home and winkingly bills itself as an "eatuary." Still, don't expect bar manager Anika Zappe to announce that the Corpse Reviver is her favorite winter cocktail.
Instead, Zappe suggests the Taut Hottie, mixed with equal parts Bulleit Rye whiskey, local honey or lavender syrup, and Teatulia black tea. Zappe serves it in a snifter with a sugared rim and lemon twist.
One other trick: "I like to do an absinthe wash in the glass and then ignite to warm the glass and caramelize the sugar," she says.

"This drink tastes just like the elements in the name," says Adam Hodak, Green Russell's guiding spirit (ahem) and beverage director for Bonanno Restaurant Concepts. "The 'stone' refers to stone fruit, while the 'spice' speaks for itself."
The cocktail features Tanqueray Rangpur, the classic British distillery's take on lime-infused gin. It's mixed with Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot liqueur and Leopold's peach liqueur, so you get a double dose of stone fruit.
Dashes of Allspice Dram and housemade abbott's bitters add allspice and clove notes.

"This is our signature winter cocktail," says Randy Layman, who is bar manager at this bustling watering hole and restaurant in Denver's Uptown neighborhood. "It's a variation on the classic martini, but with a dash of maraschino liqueur. And the bitters have been aged in American oak."
The drink is anchored by locally produced Jackelope gin, Carpano Antica brand sweet vermouth, plus a bit of Leopold Brothers' maraschino liqueur and Angostura bitters. They also serve the 100 Years Cocktail with Leopold Rye, bitters and an orange peel.

This drink was created by Avenue bartender — and proud Oklahoma State University alumni — Dylan Bailey. (What Paul Bunyan has to do with the Sooner state, we don't know, but there you go.)
Avenue bar manager Marnie Ward calls this drink a "Big Boy breakfast in a glass."
"It's a filling winter cocktail to quench your 'giant' thirst and appetite, all at the same time," she said.
She's not kidding. Check out the ingredient list: Buffalo Trace bourbon, muddled bacon, fresh-squeezed orange juice, grenadine syrup, maple syrup, pasteurized raw egg white. Then you garnish with peppered bacon.
After that, feel free to break into Monty Python's "Lumberjack Song."

This recipe isn't unique to the Rackhouse, the restaurant that abuts the Stranahan's distillery on an industrial stretch of South Kalamath, but that Rackhouse celebrates all things Stranahan's, it's worth using this homegrown whiskey to mix the classic whiskey-vermouth-bitters-and-cherry Manhattan.
"The way we make it makes the drink a little bit spicier because of the whiskey itself," says bartender Starr Neel.
The result? A mix of the Big Apple with the Mile High City — and just the thing to sip on a frigid night.

The Mountain Sasparilla evokes the frontier, thanks to Root liqueur and its old-timey flavor. The bar takes High West double rye, mixes it with a muddled orange wedge and a bit of fresh vanilla extract, and tops it with Coke and soda.
"It's our take on an early pioneer drink," says executive chef Eric Rivera. "There's a root beer flavor, and the vanilla bean shines through. There's a nice warmth to it."

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